Wheel of Fortune on Facebook: Wheel Watchers, give it a whirl

If you're a 'Wheel Watcher,' aka a fan of the classic TV game show Wheel of Fortune, you'll be happy to know that your favorite letter-turning game has finally landed on Facebook. The game, created by GSN Digital, combines the aspects from the TV Show -- the wheel, buying vowels and the trademark sound effects -- with some very Facebook game-centric features.

You start the game by playing a 'Main Round' on your own and then playing a 'Bonus Round' where you can ask friends for help via a Facebook Wall post. Just like the TV show, you can spin the wheel and pick a consonant, choose to buy a vowel and/or choose to solve the entire puzzle. After the round is over, you are rewarded with 'Wheel Bucks,' which can be used to buy bonuses for your game -- Letter Reveal, Timer Pause, Double Bucks, Free Play -- or used to buy collections. Once a collection is complete, you'll score Wheel Gold, which can be used to buy more bonuses or purchase additional episodes (each player is given three free episodes to play daily).

Like other Facebook games, you can invite friends to be your neighbors, and their profile will show up in a leaderboard at the bottom of the screen. From there, you can send game bonuses to friends as free gifts and, more importantly, keep an eye on your standing in the ranks. And, while you can ask friends for help, you will be given ample opportunity to help friends solve puzzles as well, which will earn you additional Wheel Bucks.

Microtansactions are baked into the game -- of course -- and players have the option to buy Wheel Gold for real-life cash, via credit Card or PayPal.
Wheel of Fortune isn't exactly new to the online game space -- there are several versions floating around the web (including this one on Games.com), but this socialized version of the game does a great job at harnessing the power of Facebook and adding a more personal (and maybe even competitive) experience to the the game we all know and love. We're also looking forward to seeing what exactly the Wheel Greeting and Compete for Wheel Gold features that are labeled as 'coming soon' on the game's main page will be all about.

The only thing that's keeping this 'Wheel' from nearing perfection? There's no way to hire a virtual Vanna White to turn the letters for us.